St. John’s Pushes Past UMass, 78-63

Sunday, November 24

Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun Arena)

3:30 p.m.

St. John's University

5-2

Massachusetts

5-2

Massachusetts

St. John's

11/24/2019 6:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Red Storm outscored Minutemen by 16 in the second half en route to fifth win of 2019-20 campaign

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – A day after being undone by a strong second half from Arizona State, the St. John's men's basketball team outscored UMass by 16 in the latter period to top the Minutemen, 78-63, and take home third place at the Air Force Reserve Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday afternoon.

Trailing at the half for the first time this season, St. John's limited UMass to just 21.2 percent shooting, including a 15.8 percent effort from three-point range, in the latter stanza.

Offensively, David Caraher made four of his five field goal attempts and scored 12 of his season-high 17 points in the second half. On the game, Caraher shot 6-of-8 from the field, including a 3-for-5 effort from three-point range. The redshirt sophomore did all of his damage in just 21 minutes of game action, 18 of which came after the intermission.

Josh Roberts penned the latest chapter in his breakout sophomore campaign, scoring a career-high 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks.

The other half of the Red Storm's front-court duo, Julian Champagnie put forth yet another solid performance to start his St. John's tenure. The Brooklyn native tallied 12, seven boards and three steals, marking his seventh outing in as many tries with at least eight points and six rebounds. Champagnie was named to the all-tournament team for his effort.

Despite scoring just seven points on the afternoon, LJ Figueroa matched a career-high with six steals. As a team, the Johnnies combined for a season-high 13 thefts.

Following a back-and-forth start to the contest, St. John' used a 10-0 run to move ahead by seven, 17-10, with 13 minutes to go in the first half. Caraher scored five points on that run, making a layup and draining a three. Rasheem Dunn assisted on two of the run's four baskets.

Leading by eight, 28-20, with seven minutes to play in the opening period, the Red Storm endured an 11-3 Minutemen run to fall behind by a pair, 33-31, with just under four minutes remaining in the half.

The two teams traded leads the rest of the way before UMass took a 38-37 advantage into the locker room.

After the break, the Minutemen climbed ahead by as many as eight, 45-37, following a 7-0 run to start the half.

From there, Caraher scored the Red Storm's next seven points to give the Johnnies the spark they desperately needed, draining a three and recording a pair of layups.

Still trailing by five, 53-48, with 11 minutes to play, the Red Storm unleashed a 13-0 run, holding UMass without a point for more than four minutes and moving ahead by eight. Champagnie kicked off the spurt with a three ball before adding another bucket later on. Marcellus Earlington also chipped in four points on the run.

UMass responded by trimming their deficit to three on a pair of occasions in the minutes following the St. John's tear, but the Red Storm responded with a 9-1 run from the four-minute mark to the one-minute mark to put the game out of reach.

In total, St. John's closed the game on a 15-3 run.

The Red Storm will return to action on Saturday, welcoming Wagner to Carnesecca Arena for a 12 p.m. tip. The game will kick off a five-game homestand against the Seahawks, a spurt that features four games in Queens and a showdown against West Virginia at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 7.